What is the difference between putchar and printf

The difference between putchar and printf: 1. The parameter type of putchar is int, and the parameter type of printf is string; 2. putchar can only output one character, and printf can output multiple characters; 3. putchar cannot be formatted Output, printf can perform formatted output; 4. putchar has no return value, printf returns the number of characters successfully output; 5. putchar outputs to the console, printf is not limited to output to the console; 6. Performance, etc.

#The operating environment of this article: Windows 10 system, Dell G3 computer.

putchar and printf are two output functions in C language, and they have some functional differences.

Parameter type:

The parameter type of the putchar function is int. It accepts a character as a parameter and outputs the character to the standard output stream (usually the console ).

The parameter type of the printf function is a string. It accepts a format string as a parameter and outputs different types of data to the standard output stream according to the instructions of the format string.

Output method:

The putchar function can only output one character at a time, while the printf function can output multiple characters, including strings, numbers, variables, etc.

Formatted output:

The putchar function cannot perform formatted output, it can only output one character.

The printf function can specify the output format through the format string, such as %d means output integer, %f means output floating point number, %c means output character, etc.

Return value:

The putchar function has no return value.

The printf function returns the number of characters successfully output.

Output location:

The putchar function outputs characters to the standard output stream, usually the console.

The printf function can redirect output to files, networks, etc., and is not limited to output to the console.

Performance:

The putchar function is a relatively low-level output function, and its execution efficiency is relatively high.

The printf function is a more advanced output function. Since it has to handle complex operations such as formatting strings, it is slower than the putchar function.

Summary:

There are some differences in output functions between the putchar function and the printf function. The putchar function is mainly used to output a single character to the standard output stream, while the printf function can Formatted output is more flexible and can output multiple types of data. In actual use, you can choose to use the putchar function or the printf function according to the specific output requirements.

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